Rise of Rurik

"I don't know where we are going."

"Keep paddling. The gods will see us home."

Gradually, Arik's ears were filled with complaints about the unknown future.

This time, just like the previous times, he cheered for his brothers: "Keep paddling! We haven't found the end of the river yet. It's still early in autumn and winter. We have enough time to continue exploring."

As soon as he finished speaking, a brother continued to question: "But we have to go back in time for the autumn harvest. My work is indispensable for threshing the wheat."

"The autumn harvest is a problem, but it's not a big problem. Your family can hire some wheat harvesters to work for you. As for us... we have all drifted here, so we can't give up halfway."

Indeed, the sunk costs for everyone are already too high.

Although the ship is still moving westward as a whole, it maintains a high speed in the river that is almost infinitely winding like a sheep intestine. The navigation is still extremely boring, but those with a discerning eye will notice some changes in the surrounding environment.

What comes into view is still the endless pine forest, and the riverside is still covered with reeds and the terrain is extremely soothing.

They saw a bear wandering by the river. Just when the bored people were excited and wanted to complete a beautiful shot, the heavy steel-arm crossbow had just been loaded. They probably sensed the danger. The fat brown bear raised its head and stared for a while before deftly shooting. Get into the forest.

The people who had just become interested felt regretful and were so frustrated that they booed.

However, this chance encounter at least proved that bears were present in the area, and bored people had more to think about.

Just like the past few days, this evening a boatload of people set up camp and rest on the nearby beach.

The keel was riding on the green mud covered with reeds, and people were holding on to the alien wooden bridge at the bow of the ship, jumping deftly onto the dry grass.

Cautious people bent down to check the strangeness of this grassland. There were no traces of human activities here, and there seemed to be no traces of hunting.

They were still thinking about the brown bear they found, so someone with a loaded crossbow entered the nearby forest to search.

When they returned from the woods they had a few more guys in their hands.

It was an Eastern European grouse shot with precision.

This larger bird is not very good at flying but is extremely good at darting through pine needle meadows. It ran too fast to avoid being shot by the hunter's crossbow. Of course Arik's guys know this kind of bird. It is distributed in the forest near Yin'ermen Lake, but it has disappeared over the years due to fishing-style fishing.

People returning from the forest were filled with joy of the harvest. Some people returned with as many as six grouse with black and red feathers on their backs, and even got some eggs.

At this time, the sun was setting, and a clearing was cleared at the riverside camp. People cut down some small pine trees on the spot and smashed them into pieces. When the withered reeds were ignited, a large number of pine branches were thrown in, and soon a ball of scorching heat The flames burst out into a huge flame two people high, and it burned more and more fiercely under the breeze blowing through the river.

Arik, who had just washed his sweaty shirt by the river, was busy putting the clothes on a wooden pole and baking them by the fire. At this time, the hunters returned one after another.

"Have you seen any signs of bears?" he asked casually.

"No, but I caught a lot of birds. Haha, they are all good materials for making arrow feathers."

So, all the fat grouse that had been shot were still beside the fire, and they immediately attracted everyone to watch. Arik was surprised that a few hunters finally shot nearly twenty grouse. Could it be that the birds were everywhere in the forest?

"Our sailing these days can be considered as a new harvest." A hunter wiped the sweat on his face: "One per person, and everyone in our boat can share one."

"Don't be like this." Another hunter objected to this condescension: "They are all strong men, and they are all brothers of the First Flag Team. They hunt based on their ability. I'd better keep my six chickens for my own family." .”

"Now is not the time to be greedy. In my opinion, we have to let Arik make a decision. It's a rare opportunity to eat fresh meat. Of course, everyone should share it." Someone still encouraged.

Everyone was salivating looking at the meat. At this time, those who continued to protect the prey had no choice but to agree to share.

"That's fine. I will take away all the feathers that can be used, and the meat will be shared with everyone."

Even if it is not good at flying, even if it eats bursting pine nuts, acorns and small insects, the forest grouse in Northeast Europe can always grow very fat. In addition, it is born with extremely fluffy feathers and gorgeous tail feathers born for mating. Naturally, it becomes a staple food for forest beasts.

It actually runs very fast, and when necessary, it can flap its wings and fly to a branch to rest to avoid attacks, but that's all they can do.

Without the intervention of adventurous hunters, forest grouse would continue to live the same lives they have for thousands of years.

Now, the vast people of the expanding Rus Kingdom have extended their plundering hands to all birds and beasts.

Two species of birds are deliberately harvested by hunters for their oil-rich and valuable leathery feathers.

One is a great auk and the other is a forest grouse.

However, the forest grouse has a pair of flexible legs, and the endless forests in the east allow it to run wild. Compared with the unlucky auk, they have more habitat options.

The poultry and mammals in the area around Yin'ermen Lake have been hunted to near depletion, and people raise chickens on a large scale to offset the plight of scarce prey.

This also forced Russian immigrants to rush to Lake Valdai to continue plundering local resources, and Arik's fantasy rafting was a quite successful expedition.

The huge black feathers on the grouse's tail are spread out during courtship. They are not flight feathers but are large and hard. A grouse can provide up to forty large tail feathers, the quality of which is comparable to the flight feathers of domestic chickens. Be good.

A single grouse can even provide a hundred feathers for arrow fletching.

The Russians' war methods and hunting patterns determine that they have a huge demand for arrow fletching, so they have an urgent need for suitable arrow fletching materials. The price of fine feathers from a grouse exceeds the price of the chicken itself.

But now everyone needs to eat these chickens, roast the yellow fat of the grouse until it is sizzling, sprinkle it with salt and eat it.

Arik had an unexpected delicious meal, and even the young Jill had a mouthful of oil.

Fat gives great strength to those who paddle hard. Of course, everyone is still thinking about hunting bears, and they also have to think about encountering bear attacks at night.

The "multiple campfire tactic" originally used to intimidate the enemy was now used to deter bears. After they lit a campfire in nowhere, they fell asleep around the largest fire.

The next day, the long boat drifted into an unnamed small lake. It was extremely slender and obviously could not be the end of the journey. Soon, another river mouth appeared ahead.

They spent another night by the river. This time they did not catch grouse, but they caught enough bass in the lake for everyone to eat.

They were still going upstream of the Shlina River. After passing the long lake, everything became a complete repeat of the previous days.

There has been no change in the surrounding environment. Even if Canutet, the accompanying scribe, has been recording, he can only record "the environment remains the same" until now. It is not that he is suddenly incompetent, but there is really nothing to write or draw locally.

No one knew how long they would continue sailing in the soothing water of the winding river. They rowed mechanically as always, and abnormalities quietly occurred in this negligence.

Because they finally broke through the last mouth of the Shlina River.

The boat docked at the soothing shore of the new big lake, and people got off the boat one after another, stepping on the sandbank by the lake and sighing at the sparkling water.

People were excited and disappointed, and the complex emotions were intertwined. At this moment, the cool breeze blowing in the ears kept whistling, which made people feel a little sad.

"It's deserted again. Arik, this is probably the end." Someone lamented.

"We still haven't found the end. It seems that the source of the river full of green mud is here."

"Who knows?" Someone joked with a wry smile, "Maybe our brave Arik will have to find another river that continues to the west. He will not give up until he finds the place where the sun sets."

Aric didn't like what he heard. The guys were not teasing, but teasingly criticizing him for taking the risk.

Do we really have to turn back the way we came?

No!

Arik noticed the islands due to the west and even the faintly visible lake shoreline on the other side of the river. He calmed down and did not think about it again: "I just want to continue exploring. I make an agreement with you. If we can't find a river leading to the west, we Just turn back the way we came. You can rest assured, following the river map drawn by the scribe, it will take us at most ten days to return home."

Ten days is not a long time, everyone can tolerate it.

After all, these soldiers of the First Flag Team have experienced hundreds of battles, and the voyage in the vast sea may last for a month. They were not afraid at that time, and they are still the same now. The only thing they feared was the uncertainty of the unknown. But now that Canutet could immediately produce solid sailing records, it became "known" for everyone to return the same way, and there was no need to be afraid.

Someone even joked: "It's okay to turn back the way we came. Let's explore the previous camp again. If we can stuff the linen bags we bring with us with grouse feathers and pay tribute to the king immediately, the brothers will make a fortune." "

After a night's rest, the lonely longship continued sailing westward. At least the wide lake allows everyone to make full use of the sails and use the warm southerly wind to allow the ship to drift quickly northwest.

After drifting peacefully for about six kilometers, a brand new river mouth appeared in front of us again.

It was obviously Arik who insisted on continuing to explore, but he himself also backed down during the discussion at the riverside.

"It's okay if we didn't find the estuary. God! Don't give us the damn estuary. Let's go back and suspend everything this year." He couldn't tell everyone what he was saying, but he really saw the estuary quietly in front of him, and felt in his heart Suddenly there was a mixture of sadness and joy.

It seems that the gods did not answer his prayers.

On second thought, I'm afraid this is also the decree of the gods.

"What should we do?" He turned around and looked at the dumbfounded faces of the rowing brothers: "As agreed, we will continue rushing."

"What else can we do?" Someone then shrugged with a wry smile and said, "For inland navigation, we have to lower the sail."

Until now, they still didn't realize how amazing something was going to happen to them.

Perhaps it is the same as the river before it, only God knows where its source is.

Since the name Shilayina (Shilina, meaning green mud) was given to the previous river, it is still used to call the new waterway.

But, it's not!

The river narrowed significantly, and was only deep enough for a long boat with a shallow draft to move forward. The water flow slowed down, and there was no longer green mud on the riverside, replaced by sand.

It was still the same as the previous voyage. Everyone, who had no extravagant expectations for the future, successfully passed the twists and turns of the river in just one day, and then a new large lake appeared in front of them again and again.

At this point, everyone stopped even thinking about smiling bitterly.

Some people even knelt down at the mouth of the river, opened their arms toward the sun and roared.

A pair of eyes looked at Arik again, and someone came over and patted the old soldier who was also in a bad mental state: "Brother, what should I do?"

"I know what you are going to ask." Arik smiled bitterly: "What else can we do? Continue to enter the New Great Lake. May the gods bless us."

The brand-new large lake has an obvious structural and trivial landscape. Standing at the mouth of the river, they can see a large number of small islands lying across it. The small island obscures the view, making the lake appear not to be particularly large.

But when the lonely long boat raised its sails and the wind continued to drift leisurely to the northwest, a larger lake area appeared before us after passing a large number of small islands.

It's just the sight in front of him that makes all those who are extremely bored or even drowsy get goosebumps all over their bodies.

They all cheered up and widened their eyes, for no other reason than because boats appeared on the extremely open lake.

Those ships have obvious structures with pointed ends and a towering mast in the center.

"Who are they? Are they also from Russia? Where did we drift to?" Arik and everyone were so confused.

He had an idea and called to his youngest son Gil: "Child! Climb up to the top beam of the mast with the flag and show our Ross flag!"

The boy climbed quickly like a little monkey with his bare feet, and the unfinished Ross flag on a white background fluttered in the wind.

Arik calmed down his excitement and said with burning eyes: "Brothers! Paddle faster! Rush over and talk to the fishermen!"

From the perspective of the fishermen, a dozen people were fishing for bass leisurely with simple dried fish, when they suddenly saw a long boat rushing towards them. They did not feel intimidated, as the characteristic triangle sail and the flying Ross flag easily proved their identity. I wonder if there are others working in this lake area?

The fishermen are all Russians who push boats from the north.

They didn't want the sudden arrival of their friends to disturb their fishing, but the other party rushed over like crazy. They were so angry that they simply took off their round shields hanging on the side of the boat and started beating them with swords and axes for protection. Buckler makes noise just to express his dissatisfaction. Similarly, in order to avoid the farce of a self-inflicted fight, they showed the Ross flag.

Both sides were from Russia, and Arik and his guys were even more excited.

Seeing that the two longships were about to collide, Arik's longship drifted away with a quick swerve before the formation. Finally, it hit the other side and regained its composure after a tremor.

Arik looked happy, but the other person couldn't speak without swearing in the dialect of Old Ross. "Idiot! The lake is so big and we are fishing separately. What are you doing?! Are you trying to grab fish from us?"

"Robbing fish?" Arik's face immediately dropped, he hurriedly stroked his beard, slapped his cheeks, and tidied up his fluffy hair.

He was not unattractive, in fact, after a long voyage, everyone began to look slovenly, even the women accompanying him became slovenly.

The fisherman saw the face of the person in front of him clearly, and his anger immediately disappeared, followed by shock: "Arik?! Is that you? Arik."

"it's me."

"It's unbelievable. You also took your brothers down south from Lake Valdai? I heard that you went to explore the East."

"Ah? What is going on? Uncle? What kind of place is this?"

"Lake Villiers. What's wrong?"

The old man looked confused, but the first young man on the fishing boat stood up with a smile and shouted: "Aric, why are you so old?"

"Helga! It's you."

"It's me. My father and I went to the big lake in the south to fish. What's the situation with you? You..." the young man narrowed his eyes, "it doesn't look like you are here to fish."

"Hey! It's a long story, everything is a miracle..."

Although it was very bizarre, everyone finally drifted to Lake Villiers. It turns out that Arik did not find a new waterway leading to Lake Valdai, but it was not a failure.

Although there are no easily navigable waterways, there are a large number of small lakes between Lake Valdai and Lake Villiers. The streams and mud between them are just conducive to pushing boats. The Ross fishing boats on this lake arrived in this way, so much so that a makeshift settlement was born.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, it was now the fishermen's turn to be shocked.

Young Helga asked doubtfully: "Brother, in order to find the source of the Musta River, you ended up here all at once? Could it be that Lake Villiers is the source?"

"Maybe... that's it." Arik looked relieved.

Canutet, who remained silent, felt that this was not the case, but did not speak and just sat quietly on the side, busy recording this incredible experience on paper.

Since there is a camp built by fishermen and hunters, it might as well be used as a resting place to rest for a while.

So, after experiencing a fantasy drifting, Arik and his party docked their longboat at the temporary dock of the Bear Hunting House. Their arrival immediately caused a strong sensation among the local Russian temporary residents.

If nothing else, the expedition of Arik and his party is too legendary, and this successful expedition provides everyone with a new possibility - we can obviously rush towards the east along the Musta River.

(The rafting path of Arik and his party: Valdai Lake → Main channel of the Musta River → Lake Musta → Today’s Volochok Lake (Grilled Fish Lake) → Shlina River → Shlina Lake → Rybuya Channel →Lake Villiers)